Weds. Nov. 4
This is my favorite place yet. I'm sitting on the veranda of the Hotel Norbu Sangpo, prayer flags swaying in the breeze all around me, the sound of a long horn and the smell of burning incense filling the air. A group of red-robed young monks are playing tag in the courtyard of the monastary next door. It's so beautiful it almost brings me to tears.
I needed such tranquility after the insane, solo, two-hour cab ride from the hospital in Banepa into Kathmandu today. I sat in the front seat (no seatbelts) as we jockeyed past motorized rickshaws that looked like something straight out of a Mad Max movie, dodging emaciated cows and wayward chickens, and jockeying through by far the worst traffic I have ever seen in my life. Total anarchy.
Then, he dropped me off, my giant backpack in tow, at the stupa gate. Twenty feet inside and I was greeted by the towering white Buddhist temple, its watchful eyes peering down on me, and red robed monks making their daily clockwise walk around its base, spinning the prayer wheels inside.
I'll never forget the smell of fresh herbs and burning incense, or the double scoop of ice cream I got at the little shop, Flavors, inside. Best ice cream ever.
I had dinner with Laurie Matthews, a former Colorado State Parks director who now dedicates her life to running dental clinics here in Nepal. And this morning, I watched her and her team in action - doing cleanings, fillings, extractions, on kids, nuns and monks who - if it weren't for her - would never see a dentist in their life. Inspirational.
Tonight, I'm on the move again - to Thamel.
This is my favorite place yet. I'm sitting on the veranda of the Hotel Norbu Sangpo, prayer flags swaying in the breeze all around me, the sound of a long horn and the smell of burning incense filling the air. A group of red-robed young monks are playing tag in the courtyard of the monastary next door. It's so beautiful it almost brings me to tears.
I needed such tranquility after the insane, solo, two-hour cab ride from the hospital in Banepa into Kathmandu today. I sat in the front seat (no seatbelts) as we jockeyed past motorized rickshaws that looked like something straight out of a Mad Max movie, dodging emaciated cows and wayward chickens, and jockeying through by far the worst traffic I have ever seen in my life. Total anarchy.
Then, he dropped me off, my giant backpack in tow, at the stupa gate. Twenty feet inside and I was greeted by the towering white Buddhist temple, its watchful eyes peering down on me, and red robed monks making their daily clockwise walk around its base, spinning the prayer wheels inside.
I'll never forget the smell of fresh herbs and burning incense, or the double scoop of ice cream I got at the little shop, Flavors, inside. Best ice cream ever.
I had dinner with Laurie Matthews, a former Colorado State Parks director who now dedicates her life to running dental clinics here in Nepal. And this morning, I watched her and her team in action - doing cleanings, fillings, extractions, on kids, nuns and monks who - if it weren't for her - would never see a dentist in their life. Inspirational.
Tonight, I'm on the move again - to Thamel.
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